Consumers are becoming ever more aware of protecting our environment. Government and private industries are attempting to provide better products that meet consumer demands and concerns. Energy consumption is one of the prominent focal points in this environment debate and various projects and products have been proposed to reduce such consumption. One of the ways to reduce energy consumption is to provide more efficient methods for heating fluids, particularly for use in household, industrial, agricultural and commercial applications.
Heating methods for fluids traditionally comprise a heating element which is embedded within an insulated device and which then transfers heat by a range of methods including radiation, convection or conductance to an output surface. The heating element in such devices is typically fashioned as either a band or a wire made from an alloy containing nickel and/or chromium. However, such elements operating present a safety issue because of the risk of electrocution to the user. To overcome this risk, the element typically has an insulation layer around the element wire and a protective sheath around this insulation. These extra layers take some time to heat up which reduces efficiency.
Therefore it would be advantageous to provide safer and more efficient heating methods for fluids. One embodiment of the present invention provides an uninsulated yet safe heating element operable at low voltages. In order to avoid electric shock hazards, “low voltage” for purposes of this invention, ranges (depending on the application) between 1V and 42V, and ideally around about 24V.